The present invention relates to a door check device for installation between a motor vehicle body and a motor vehicle door.
Door check devices are well-known in the art for use in checking the swinging motion of automotive doors. These devices generally comprise a link member with one or more sets of detents and a housing that contains a pair of spring-biased rolling elements. The link member is inserted through the housing so that the rolling elements are engaged in rolling contact with the surfaces thereof under their respective spring biasing. Either the link member or the housing is secured to the door panel and the other is secured to the motor vehicle body. As the door panel is swung open, the link member moves relative to the housing. When the rolling elements are received within a set of detents on the link member, the detents and rolling elements cooperate to maintain the link member and housing against relative movement until a force sufficient to overcome the biasing on the rolling elements and disengage the rolling elements from the detents is applied to the door panel. As a result, the door check device functions to yieldingly maintain the door panel in position based on the cooperation between the rolling elements and the detents.
Alternatively, some prior art door check devices use non-rotatable structures that slidably engage opposing sides of the link member. One or both of these fixed structures may be spring-biased against the link member in a manner similar to the roller-type arrangement mentioned above. For an example of such a device, one may refer to U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,570
All of these types of devices typically suffer from two major drawbacks. The first such drawback is that the link member may be allowed to move transversely with respect to the rollers and the housing. This may create unwanted noise during opening and closing of the vehicle door panel. Specifically, such transverse movement may cause the link member to strike or rub against the housing during door opening and closing, thereby creating such unwanted noise. The second such drawback is that the link member may be allowed to pivot or otherwise shift or move relative to the housing in a yaw-type movement. As a result of such movement, the transverse detents can become misaligned with respect to the orientation of the rollers. This misalignment may cause the door check device to become inoperable because the rollers are unable to be received within the detents.
Consequently, there exists a need for an improved door check device that obviates the shortcomings associated with the prior art door check devices discussed above.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to meet the need expressed above. To achieve this object, the present invention provides a door check device comprising a first and second link member engaging structure and a housing. An elongated link member has a first opposing end that provides a connecting portion, a second opposing end, and an intermediate portion that extends between the first and second opposing ends thereof and provides first and second opposing face surfaces. The intermediate portion has first and second detent regions that extend generally in a transverse direction of the link member on the first and second opposing face surfaces thereof, respectively. The elongated link member is positioned between the first and second engaging structures with the first and second engaging structures extending generally in the transverse direction of the link member such that the first and second rollers face the first and second face surfaces, respectively, of the intermediate portion. Biasing structure is constructed and arranged to bias the first and second engaging structures relatively towards one another to thereby urge the engaging structures into engagement with the first and second opposing face surfaces of the intermediate link member portion, respectively. The connecting portion of the elongated link member and the connecting portion of the housing are constructed and arranged to enable installation of the door check device by operatively connecting one of the connecting portions to the vehicle door and operatively connecting the other of the connecting portions to the vehicle body so that opening and closing movements of the vehicle door relative to the vehicle body moves the link member relative to the housing with the first engaging structure travelling along the first face surface of the link member""s intermediate portion and the second engaging structure travelling along the second face surface of the link member""s intermediate portion. The engaging structures and the detent regions are configured with respect to one another such that, when the device is installed as aforesaid and the vehicle door is swung to a location with respect to the vehicle body wherein the first and second engaging structures are received within the first and second detent regions, respectively, the first and second engaging structures cooperate with the first and second detent regions to maintain the vehicle door at that position until a force sufficient to cause the link member to move relative to the housing so as to urge the engaging structures relatively apart from one another and out of cooperation with the detent regions against the biasing of the biasing structure is applied to the vehicle door.
The first engaging structure and the first opposing face surface of the intermediate portion are configured so as to engage with one another under the biasing of the biasing structure in a first transverse movement restricting relationship wherein the first opposing face surface and the first engaging structure cooperate to restrict relative movement between the first engaging structure and the link member generally in the transverse direction of the link member. The second engaging structure and the second opposing face surface of the intermediate portion are configured so as to engage with one another under the biasing of the biasing structure in a second transverse movement restricting relationship wherein the second opposing face surface and the second engaging structure cooperate to restrict relative movement between the second engaging structure and the link member generally in the transverse direction of the link member. The first engaging structure and the second engaging structure each are constructed and arranged such that, when the link member is caused to undergo a yaw movement relative to the housing generally along a yaw plane that extends in both the transverse direction and the longitudinal extent of the link member, the first and second engaging structures are allowed to move along with the link member to thereby facilitate the first and second engaging structures remaining engaged with the first and second face surfaces in the aforesaid first and second transverse movement restricting relationships, respectively.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first engaging structure and the first opposing face surface of the intermediate portion have complementary shapes configured so as to engage with one another under the biasing of the biasing structure in a first complementary relationship so as to provide the first transverse movement restricting relationship and the second engaging structure and the second opposing face surface of the intermediate portion have complementary shapes configured so as to engage with one another under the biasing of the biasing structure in a second complementary relationship so as to provide the second transverse movement restricting relationship. However, the broader aspects of the invention are not intended to be limited to such an arrangement.